From The Trenches
(Healthcare Reform for the Real World)
#1: Nature of the Problem
This begins a series of examination of the problems in our health care system from the real world where patients get sick and injured, and doctors and other health care providers work to heal them. In the series, we’ll identify the actual non-political problems, and offer sound, sensible solutions that we can enact ourselves to reduce risk and increase patient safety.
Some 35-40 years ago, people would see a physician PRN — as needed. They’d call up and go in to the doctor’s office, and wait to be seen. If there was an emergency, that person would go ahead of the others, so anyone who had need of urgent care would be tended to. If it was after hours or on the weekend, the answering service would patch you through to your doctor, or the doctor who was “on call,” taking care of his patients while he or she was away or unavailable. You’d explain the symptoms, the doctor would then either say it could wait for an appointment, tell you to go to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription he/she called in, or meet you at the hospital if that was necessary. My family physician didn’t have front OR back office staff. A surgeon and surgical nurse instructor, yet he had no need of staff to take care of his patients. And that was in Chicago, in the 1970’s. It stayed that way until about 20 or so years ago, and the system worked well. Then the trouble started.